U2:3D - Your thoughts and reviews

Originally posted by germcevoyStreets was great but I think the sound was a little crap. The guitar didn't have that thumping pierce that the opening of Pride had. I also think the crowd during the Buenos Aires show reacted better to the 'ARGENTINA!!' part to.

Originally posted by haytrain[..]

Couldn't agree more.

(I'd love to keep chatting, but my girlfriend is visiting from New York and isn't exactly thrilled that I'm posting on the forums instead of hanging out with her....Whoops.)

Originally posted by germcevoyStreets was great but I think the sound was a little crap. The guitar didn't have that thumping pierce that the opening of Pride had. I also think the crowd during the Buenos Aires show reacted better to the 'ARGENTINA!!' part to.

Originally posted by germcevoy[..]

I get that every night mate. Have a good one

Originally posted by djrlewis[..]

Umm, you may have a point there. The joys of having bootlegged video!!

[..]

Jeez, you're girlfriend comes over from New York every night?!

I've heard of lady taxes, but that's ridiculous....

Originally posted by germcevoy[..]

Haha. I think Buenos Aires definitely should have been used but then again I don't work with Catherine Owens

Originally posted by djrlewis*NOTE* : This review contains spoilers. If you want to go unprepared, don't read it

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U23D

Notes

Manchester IMAX is 8-storeys high. It is huge. There are bigger apparently, but this was the largest I've been to. It's also a bugger to get to if you don't know your way. I realise this is irrelevant for 98% of you but if you live in the UK and are heading that way bear it in mind...

Before-hand they laid on a tribute band, Rattle and Hum, from Burnley, Lancashire. The 3 instrumentalists were great and did a good job of reproducing the sound. The frontman didn't impress me much though - didn't look like Bono, didn't sound like Bono and certainly couldn't carry himself even half like Bono. He did forget loads of words though, although I'm not sure if that was part of the act...

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Then it was in to the theatre. After collecting the comically oversized specs, I took a seat centre back (and I would echo that this is the place to sit) and patiently (!) waited.

Review

Music has been an enduring passion for most of my life. “U23D” is one of the reasons why. No matter how old you get you never want to die because something like this may come along tomorrow. The experience of sight and sound that one encounters in U23D is undeniably breathtaking. I went to the show with every intention of watching and listening with critical faculties alert but the sight and sound was so incredible I just lost myself in the gig.
They’ve taken a number of IMAX nature films and done some techno-wizardry so they can be shown in 3D. I saw one recently and it was okay but it looked like an old nature film with 3D effects layered on here and there. “U23D” was digitially filmed for 3D from the ground up. And it shows.

It begins, after a protracted "Everyone" sequence with people rushing to their places and some very impressive credits that are your first taster (yes, some folks reached out to try and touch them...), with the bang that is "Vertigo," and it takes a few minutes to adjust to the 3D. By the second song ("Beautiful Day") the film's rapturous energy and high-impact sensory-overload has you in its grip. High-definition 3D cameras soar above the stadium crowds, swooping and weaving in and around the band and the screaming throngs with cell phone "lighters" in the air. It's a strikingly immersive experience, There are a number of shots looking up at the band from the audience’s perspective. When the person in front of the camera throws their arms up in the air you will think it’s the guy in the chair in front of you in the cinema. The next time it happens and you look right at the guy in front of you, you will see that it isn’t him - but you will believe the guy next to him in your peripheral vision is throwing his arms up in the air. It has to be seen to be believed and were it not for the conspicuous lacking of concert smells (sweat, beer, controlled substances) and touch sensations (sweat, wind, rambunctious bodies), you might think you were there. The concert's visual effects are only heightened by the 3D technology, which creates an interesting illusion of Flash-esque layering. During "The Fly," for example, a barrage of words and screen-size letters are layered over each other during the band's performance, creating a trippy, totally unique effect that maximizes the 3D potential. At visually stunning moments like these, the 3D form really does feel like the new frontier. Other highlights include "Love and Peace" (the Larry/Bono shot - wow!) and the sea of dancing Brazilians during Streets. It was all I could do not to get up and join in the crowd I thought I was part of.

Those of us who've been to gigs know that this can't replace it, but as a stopgap and certainly as a concert film, this comes bloody close.

How does it sound? The surround sound in the IMAX was spectacular - huge, precise, clear and they turned it up. And the band was terrific.

That's my other point. They are terrific. Yes, it's frontloaded with the hits (only Love and Peace is likely to be 'unknown' to anyone) but the band wanted this to be accesible to as many as possible. If you've never been to a U2 show, these are the songs you'd want. Yes it's edited between 7 shows and is blindingly obvious (a huge cry of 'Braaazzziillll' during Streets then lots of Argentine references during 'One', the next song), especially to us here, U2-nerds one and all. The fades didn't bother me at all; and honestly, how are they going to interchange between songs when it's not a full setlist and isn't pretending to be either? There was also the bit in "Miss Sarajevo" where they show Bono in two different angles - in one he holds the mic in his hand; the other it's on a stand. This has to be intentional.

The idea of this film is the immersive experience. Honestly, with the level of knowledge we have, you have to go and just be prepared to switch off and enjoy it. Otherwise you'll be picking holes like Granny's old cardigan. (I did note that the autocue is blurred out, but as you'll know this is my big Bono bugbear of the moment, so honestly, I was bound to see it )

Watching “U23D” I had an overwhelming sense that an important part of U2's success is that they appear to have never lost sight of the idea that’s it’s not about them, it’s about the music and the power that the music has to bring a message of humanity, equality, unity to the audience. One. Uno. They play like their goal is not to make money and be rock stars but to give the audience what they wanted when they came - something wonderful and extraordinary they’ll remember forever. They play to knock you out and they deliver.

You know when you wake up from a great dream and you want to go right back asleep to where you left off? That is what it feels like as Yahweh (bloody fantastic BTW) plays at the closing credits of U23D. If it hadn't been for the fact that the next show started at 11pm and I had a 2 hour drive home, I would have gone back in.

If you live in or near a city that has an IMAX cinema showing “U23D” it will be easy; if you don’t, it will be harder. Maybe a lot harder. Doesn’t matter. Whether or not you like the Vertigo Tour and the politics, if you love U2's music (and why would you you be reading this forum if you didn’t), do whatever it takes to see this film. Sit dead centre toward the back. After they get a look at “U23D” every band is going to have to have their own IMAX 3D concert film. But “U23D” is the first, this is the one that all the rest are going to be compared to, this is the one that changed the world.

Originally posted by emielyes yes i 'am going to see it in amsterdam
on the 21th of march !!!!
just made my reservation !!
i go with two friends of my !!!!
cant wait to see it !!!

Originally posted by emielyes yes i 'am going to see it in amsterdam
on the 21th of march !!!!
just made my reservation !!
i go with two friends of my !!!!
cant wait to see it !!!